Daily Ticker

Job Market ‘Making Slow and Steady Progress Every Month’: Jack Ablin

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in January. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting an increase of 160,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in January from 7.8% at the end of 2012.

But November and December monthly payrolls were revised up by a total of 127,000 jobs. The broadest measure of unemployment, also known as U6, remained unchanged at 14.4 million. The BLS defines "U6" as "total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons."

U.S. markets are trading higher after the jobs report. The S&P 500 (GSPC) is up 0.31% to 1,507 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up 0.63% to 13,948 mid-morning Friday.

The weak fourth quarter GDP figure reported earlier in the week had many investors and economists worried that the economy might be headed back toward a recession. But the relatively positive jobs figure has squelched that sentiment, at least for now.

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